J/70 Fleet Program Announcement!(Newport, RI)- J/Boats is excited to announce a new J/70 Club Fleet Program available for all North American sailing organizations, community sailing and yacht clubs. The program is inspired by the recent increase in Club fleet purchases, including an order received earlier this month for ten J/70s to replace a fleet of Sonars (details to be announced in an upcoming press release) and, of course, the fleet of boats recently purchased by Detroit area members of Grosse Pointe YC and Bayview YC.
Clubs are actively seeking replacement options for aging keelboat fleets; a principal motivating factor is that sailing organizations are hoping to attract and retain younger members in the process.
The J/70 Club Fleet Program is perfectly positioned to fill this growing need and to re-invigorate sailing at the club level. The J/70 Club Fleet Program package includes the following:
- 2017 Model J/70 with club specification
- Triad Single-axle Trailer
- J/70 Club Sail Package (Mainsail, furling jib and spinnaker)
- Volume pricing for 2, 4 and 6 boat fleets
Club Fleet program boats are 100% class legal J/70s. The Club sails are slightly de-powered (smaller) from class sails but a club or its members can easily add a suit of J/70 class sails for competing in class events.The meteoric rise of the J/70 continues with over 1,000 boats built worldwide in just four years. There’s an active and growing International J/70 Class with strong membership and fleets on four continents, and the future looks bright for this trend to continue. The J/70 is appealing to sailors of all generations, and this fact alone is why the J/70 has become THE modern trailerable keelboat of choice for a growing number of clubs and sailing leagues across Europe and in the USA. For more J/70 fleet information- please contact Jeff Johnstone at Ph- 401-846-8410 or email- info@jboats.com
Alcatel J/70 Cup Sailing off Porto Cervo(Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy)- A twenty-two boat fleet of J/70’s is scheduled to take to the starting line this weekend as racing gets underway in the first edition of the Alcatel J/70 Cup to be held at the YC Costa Smeralda (YCCS). Taking place from the 3rd to 5th June, the event is the third act of the Alcatel J/70 Cup for the Italian National class circuit. The event marks the fleet's inaugural visit to Porto Cervo, but certainly not their last, given that the J/70 World Championship will take place at the YC Costa Smeralda in 2017.
Naturally Italian teams dominate the scratch list, however, several crews from the Principality of Monaco are also participating alongside several of Russia's top teams. Among the Italian crews to watch are current circuit leader Franco Solerio with his L’ELAGAIN crew together with his closest rivals on the overall leaderboard; Alberto Rossi on ENFANT TERRIBLE and Carlo Alberini with his team on CALVI NETWORK.
Also, in the spotlight will be Giacomo Loro Piana on MARY J, Stefano Bonadeo on MARY LOU and Franco Loro Piana on JAMMING, all of whom fly the YC Costa Smeralda colors and form, together with Nicola Savoini, the “Positive Vibration Sailing Team.” With a new fleet of J/70 yachts acquired in 2015 and several team racing and interclub events in the program over the 2016 season, the YCCS clearly sees a strong future for this fast-growing class.
Events for the twenty-two participating owners and crews kick off Thursday evening with a welcome cocktail at the YC Costa Smeralda while the first signal for racing is scheduled for 12 noon, Friday 3rd June. The forecast is for 15 to 18 knots of westerly breeze.
For further details please visit contact Jill Campbell/YCCS Press Office at ph# +39 3401674755 or email- pressoffice@yccs.it. For more Alcatel J/70 Cup Italy sailing information
J/80 Normandy Cup Preview(Le Havre, France)- The next event for the on-going French J/80 Coupe de France season-long series will be taking place in Le Havre, France this weekend from June 3rd to 5th. A number of boats are hoping the regatta will be good practice as their last big regatta prior to the J/80 World Championship in Sotogrande, Spain. Twenty-five teams are participating and will be a good test for many top crews.
Making a significant investment in time and resources is the OMAN SAIL Team. Participating in this year’s event is Fahad Al Hasani in OMAN SAIL I and world-famous offshore racer Dee Caffari will be sailing OMAN SAIL II with an Omani crew.
Of the leading French crews that are participating, look for PAPREC RECYCLAGE (Sebastien Petithuguenin), SMART GRID ENERGY (Matthieu Dolle), VITEL SAILING TEAM (Damian Michelier), VILLE DE SAINT-MALO (Alain Turco) and OBJECTIF HYDRO (Alexandre Cottron) to be factors in the overall leaderboard. For more J/80 Normandy Cup sailing information
Southern Bay Race Week Preview(Hampton, VA)- Going from strength-to-strength, the Hampton YC and its partners at the southern part of Chesapeake Bay are looking forward to hosting a much bigger fleet of boats in this year’s Southern Bay Race Week regatta that takes place over the June 3rd to 5th weekend. The J/Boats contingent will provide a large presence due to one-design class starts for J/24s, J/70s, and active participation in the PHRF handicap fleets.
The J/70 class has a fleet of seven boats that includes Ryan Kozoric’s GETMYBOAT, Clarke McKinney’s ANTAGONIST, Mike Karn’s INCONCEIVABLE and Jon Deutsch’s NO QUARTER.
The only woman skipper in the half-dozen boat J/24 class will be Cheryl Marek and her hard-charging crew on WHISKEY GIRL. They will be mixing it up with teams like Alan Bomar’s ROUNDABOUT and Alex Bolan’s SAMURAI TAKEDOWN.
In the PHRF A1 Class, two 35-foot J cruiser/racers will be working hard to establish supremacy in their ten boat class- Vernon Eberwine’s J/36 SEA STAR and Craig Wright’s J/109 AFTERTHOUGHT.
Four J/Teams will be dueling in the eleven-boat PHRF A2 fleet, including past winner Don DeLoatch on his J/105 SPECIAL K, Phil Briggs’ J/36 FEATHER, Will Roberts’ J/36 REMEDY and Jim Bordeaux’s J/40 SOLSTICE.
The sole J/crew in the eight-boat PHRF B1 group is Ryan McCrillis’ J/80 HAKA. Finally, a trio of J/30s will be pounding hard on their competitors in PHRF B2 Class; hoping to make it a J/30 sweep of the podium are Jamie Shoemaker & Ron Quinn’s GOES TO ELEVEN, Ben Ritger’s BLEW-J and Rusty Burshell’s COOL CHANGE. For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information
J/80 Trofeo Conde de Godo(Barcelona, Spain)- Up to sixty-two boats from ten countries will compete in the 43rd Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godo, which officially begins June 3rd and completes on June 5th. The Real Club Nautico de Barcelona, with the collaboration of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and the Catalan Sailing Federation, organizes the regatta,
The 43rd Conde de Godó Trophy is being supported by Catalonia government, Barcelona City Council and the Godó family- that gives the name to one of the oldest sailing trophies in Spain. The presentation of the trophy was attended by Secretary General of Sport of the Generalitat de Catalonia- Gerard Figueras; Commissioner of Sports City Council of Barcelona- Marta Carranza; the President and the Commodore of the RCNB- Félix Escalas and Damian Ribas, respectively; and Ana Godó, representing the Grupo Godó and her family.For the fleet of fifteen J/80s, the regatta will complete the Spanish Championship series, which last weekend saw the penultimate event take place in the same waters off Barcelona. Top Spanish sailor and current J/80 Spanish National Champion, Javier Chacartegui, will again be racing HM HOTELS in this prestigious regatta. His rivals will be working hard to overcome their great performance the previous weekend, including BRIBON-MOVISTAR skippered by Marc de Antonio, last weekend’s Nationals runner-up.
HM HOTELS aims to regain the crown of the Barcelona Open he won in 2014. Meanwhile, José Maria Van der Ploeg’s NAUTICA WATCHES, the bronze winner in the Nationals, will be defending his title of winning the 2015 Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godo; in fact, as Olympic Champion and J/80 World Champion, he’s hoping to take his third win in the Trofeo Conde de Godo. For more J/80 Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godo sailing information
SoCal 300 Race Preview(Santa Barbara, CA)- With two-thirds of the inaugural California Offshore Race Week in the books, one thing stands out, it's a winner!
By combining the efforts of 3 singular events into one extended week and working around the Memorial Day holiday, organizers and participants alike have to be ecstatic on the turnout and competition achieved.
Beginning with Friday’s Spinnaker Cup, the annual 88nm (usually downhill) jaunt from Francisco to Monterey saw a record sixty boats that participated, up significantly from 23 participants in 2015, and well exceeding the average mid 30's to low 40's over past 5-7 years. With boats and crews already that far down the coast, why not continue on?
The 2nd leg, the Coastal Cup was reduced from its original 277 nm grind from San Francisco to Santa Barbara (a good idea since it had recently been on life support!). With only 8 boats in attendance in 2015, and a complete cancellation in 2014 for lack of participants, 9 boats in 2013 and not much better in the previous years, it appears the magic is back. 29 boats registered and 27 sailed the 200nm race from Monterey to Santa Barbara.
The 3rd leg of the Race week will take the 29 registered boats from Santa Barbara to San Diego this Friday and wrap up on Sunday June 5th. In total, a ten-day week’s worth of sailing, if you will, with layovers! Compared to most race weeks these days that run for 3-4 days, it is a lot of serious sailing co-mingled with some relaxation and enjoyment in the beautiful places the boats have sailed to.
"We wanted to create an event that would combine some of the most scenic ports and coastline on the West Coast with family friendly travel,” says David Servais, one of the chairs on the CORW committee. "You have San Francisco, Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Diego all linked together in a situation where family and friends can follow along, while enjoying great scenery and reconnoiter in these beautiful cities, and have some relaxing down time in the process. Fortunately, the sailors are psyched and it seems to be working!"
There is something to be said for destination sailing, but all too often, crews, upon arrival will quickly turn around to deliver boats back to port, or throw them on a trailer and hit the highway without taking in much of the ambiance. As for the extended layover in Santa Barbara, the extra time allowed for some sailors and crew to return home to tend to business while others could mend worn bits and pieces on the boats and body.
The final leg, the 2nd annual SoCal 300, which is actually 255nm as the crow flies, begins with a 35nm semi-uphill leg from Santa Barbara to the west end of Santa Cruz Island, then crack off to towards San Nicolas Island, before heading almost due south to the Bishop Rock Buoy before turning back to shore in a south east fashion and finishing in San Diego. Last year's inaugural event drew nine offshore competitors, but was embraced with remarkable rave reviews.
"We tried to form an offshore race that gets boats out to where the wind is, and showcase some of the finer bluewater attributes of the SoCal area. I think we succeeded,” Dave adds. With 29 Boats participating, 20 more than last year, it appears the marriage of NorCal and SoCal events has legs.
Thus far, sailors have enjoyed a wide variety of conditions, from brisk down hill surfing, to tight reaches in light air, close encounters of the cetacean kind, including up close and personal, humpback breaches, grey whale nudges, elephant seals, dolphins, schools of tuna, and hooked crab pots to keep them amused.
A number of hot offshore J/crews will be giving the SoCal 300 their best shot. In PHRF Class D is a trio of super-fast, smart offshore teams, like John Lyon’s J/160 INNOCENT MERRIMENT from San Diego YC, Viggo Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER from Dana Point YC and Scott Grealish’s lightning bolt- the J/88 BLUE FLASH from Willamette SC in Portland, Oregon. The only J/team in PHRF E class is Ed Sanford’s experienced offshore crew on the J/105 CREATIVE from San Diego YC. Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing. For more SoCal 300 Race sailing information.
Cedar Point One-Design Preview(Westport, CT)- The Cedar Point YC is looking forward to hosting yet another edition of their ever-growing and ever more popular Cedar Point One-Design Regatta. Over the weekend of June 4th to 5th, significant fleets of J/70s, J/88s, J/105s, J/109s will be looking forward to great sailing; in fact, forty-eight J/team’s in total.
The J/70s have fourteen teams from across the northeast, mid-Atlantic and Canada. Notable crews that have done well in Long Island Sound series includes Scott & Alex Furnary’s ANY COLOUR, Josh Goldman’s BUILDING A, Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTON FLY, Carrie & Ed Austin’s CHINOOK, David Betts’ INSTANT KARMA and Trevor Roach’s SEMI-CHARMED. Taking the cross-border trek from Canada is Louis Donahue’s NIRVANA 7 from Quebec.
Sailing for their Long Island Sound Spring Championship are the fleet of a half-dozen J/88s. It’s a very competitive fleet that includes Key West Race Week champion WINGS (Mike Bruno) and Charleston Race Week champion DEVIATION (Iris Vogel). Giving them a run-for-the-money are Ken & Drew Hall’s NEVERMORE, John Pearson’s RED SKY, Kevin Marks’ VELOCITY and Doug Newhouse’s YONDER from Newport, RI.The sixteen-boat J/105 fleet should produce pretty good battles all around the race-track with several notable teams in attendance. Look for the following boats to be factors in the overall leaderboard- Paul Beaudin’s LOULOU, George & Alex Wilbanks’ REVELATION, Kieran Glackin’s SHAKEDOWN, and Marcus Wunderlich’s STRATOS.
With a dozen-boats on the starting line, things can get a bit tight (or fraught, depending on your perspective) for the J/109 class. Several past NYYC Annual Regatta winners and J/109 North American champions will be battling with some reinvigorated crews that are giving class veterans dogfights going into the corners. Teams that should factor into the top five may be Bill Sweetser’s champion crew on RUSH, Jon Rechtshaffer’s EMOTION, David Rosow’s LOKI, Adrian Begley’s MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN, Jim Vos’ SKOOT and Jack Forehand’s STRATEGERY. For more Cedar Point One-Design Regatta sailing information
Delta Ditch Race Preview(Richmond, CA)- It is that time of year again in the San Francisco Bay area, the infamous and challenging Delta Ditch Run, hosted by Stockton YC and Richmond YC, will be taking place on Saturday, June 4th. The event has become a ritual of sorts for many sailors in the Bay area, a way to start the summer off with a bang, popping kites at the start off Richmond YC within San Francisco Bay’s northeastern headwaters and blasting for 60nm up the Sacramento River, then San Joaquin River to the finish line off Stockton YC (note- driving takes 74 miles from Richmond to Stockton in 1.5 hours!). For the un-initiated, that is way, way east, up the river delta, surviving barge encounters and nasty “switchbacks” to avoid buoys and mud flats along the way downwind (and up river)! Many survive to tell
their hair-raising stories that get much, much more grandiose over time (and a few cervezas)!A significant one-design class of J/70s is participating, six to be exact. Looking forward to the switchback-laden downhill sleigh-ride to the Stockton, CA finish line will be Justin Fox’s FLOTEK, Tom Jenkins’ DFZ, Justin Kromelow’s LOOSE LUCY, Chris Andersen’s PERFECT WIFE, Brant Adornato’s HELLCAT and Chris Kostanecki’s JENNIFER. Joining them in PHRF H Class will be the J/111 SWIFT NESS sailed by Reuben Rocci from Richmond YC and the J/24 SHUT UP & DRIVE skippered by Val Lulevich. For more Delta Ditch Race sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The Memorial Day/ Bank Holiday weekend ushers in several enormous offshore classics for J sailors across Europe and North America. On the eastern seaboard of America, that event was the 186nm Block Island Race, hosted by Storm Trysail Club, in cooperation with Larchmont YC, for J/44s, J/109s, J/105s, J120s. In addition, while “serious” racers were rounding Block Island to starboard on Saturday morning, the enormously popular FIGAWI Race saw a fleet of 220+ boats take off on a 60nm jaunt from Hyannis Port, Cape Cod to Nantucket. Out on the “left coast”, Royal Victoria YC in British Columbia, Canada hosted the premiere event. The famous Swiftsure International Yacht Race was a successful outing for a few dozen J/teams that raced across the spectrum of five events. Stacks of silverware were won by J’s in the 138nm Swiftsure Lightship Classic, the 118nm Hein Race, the 102nm Cape Flattery Race, the 79nm Juan de Fuca Race, and the 8nm Inshore Race. Then, further south along the California coastline, two events in succession for the California Offshore Series took place; the first was the 100nm Spinnaker Cup Race hosted by San Francisco YC and Monterey Peninsula YC with trophy-gathering performances by the J/88, J/111, J/105s, J/109 and J/120! The second was the Coastal Cup Race of 200nm that took place on a run from Monterrey Bay to Santa Barbara with good showings from a J/111 and J/88.Across the “big Atlantic pond”, the Royal Ocean Racing Club hosted the Myth of Malham Race, the third in a series of races that comprises their RORC Offshore Points Series. It was a 230nm adventure that started off the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, Isle of Wight; more importantly, the race saw extraordinary performances across the board from a J/133, a set of J/122s, J/111, J/109s and J/105s!
In the one-design world in Europe, there were two more sailing league events in J/70s. The Swiss J/70 Sailing League took place on Lake Geneva and was hosted at Societe Nautique de Geneva for the twelve League I teams. Not that far to the northeast, the German J/70 Sailing League was sailed on Lake Constance for eighteen teams in their Premiere League teams. Finally, the Italian J/24 Nationals was hosted at Marina di Carrara, Italy for thirty-six teams from Italy, Germany and the USA.
Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Jun 1-5- Normandy J/80 Cup- Le Havre, FranceJun 2-5- Southern Bay Race Week- Hampton, VA
Jun 3-5- Alcatel J/70 Cup- Porto Cervo, Sardinia
Jun 3-5- J/80 Trofeo Conde de Godo- Barcelona, Spain
Jun 3- SoCal 300 Race- Santa Barbara, CA
Jun 4-5- Cedar Point One-Design Regatta- Westport, CT
Jun 4- Delta Ditch Race- Richmond, CA
J/70 Events:
May 19-22- J/70 North American Championship- Seabrook, TX
July 22-24- J/70 Great Lakes Championship– Youngstown, NY
Sep 24-Oct 1- J/70 World Championship- San Francisco, CA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
BLUE FLASH Seen @ Spinnaker Cup Race!J/111 SYMMETRY Garners Silver
(Tiburon, CA)- The San Francisco YC Race Committee started fifty-eight boats in seven Divisions in the 2016 Spinnaker Cup that was sailed over the Memorial Day Weekend.
SFYC and Monterey Peninsula YC co-host the Spinnaker Cup that races from San Francisco Bay to Monterey Bay; it is a classic offshore race that sends boats surfing down the “Cali” coastline in huge swells and NW breezes on a 100nm one-way course south that finishes off the Municipal Wharf in picturesque Monterrey Bay.
Sailing this year’s event were a number of offshore enthusiasts from the J/tribe. Sailing with twelve boats in Class E, it was rough sledding for Howard Turner’s J/111 SYMMETRY from Santa Cruz YC; nevertheless, they managed to snag second overall. Settling for fourth place in class was Trig Liljestrand’s J/90 RAGTIME from San Francisco YC.
The largest fleet was Class F with sixteen boats; several hot J/teams did quite well. Sailing into second overall was Scott Grealish’s J/88 BLUE FLASH from Willamette Sailing Club in Portland, Oregon; Bob Goosey’s J/105 JAVELIN was fifth; and eleventh was Jim Goldberg’s J/109 JUNKYARD DOG.
In Class J, Brent Vaughan’s J/105 JABBERWOCKY placed fourth overall. Many of the boats will be continuing on from Monterey to San Diego in this year's Coastal Cup offshore race next weekend. Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ UltimateSailing.com. For more Spinnaker Cup Race sailing information
J/Crews Winners In Swiftsure Race!(Victoria, BC, Canada)- Smooth seas and decent winds made for nearly ideal conditions as the 73rd annual Swiftsure International Yacht Race wrapped up Sunday last weekend. The prestigious event, a qualifier for the annual Vic-Maui International race in July, featured 206 boats racing through five courses.
“Swiftsure was great this year-- remarkably enough. We had good winds at the start, though they became light on and off. When there was wind, it wasn’t rough seas, though, so you could really get the boat going,” said Swiftsure Chairman Vern Burkhardt. “There weren’t any records set, but the sailors came back with smiles on their faces.”
In the marquee race, the Swiftsure Lightship Classic, a 138-nautical mile (256 kilometer) course — the oldest and most prestigious annual race in the Pacific Northwest, it was anything but a “cake-walk” for the top boats. Nevertheless, it was a veteran offshore racing crew that won the ORC Division- the J/109 MOUNTAIN skippered by Reed Bernhard and his fun-loving crew from the awesomely laid-back Sloop Tavern YC.
In the new Hein Bank Race of 118.1nm, essentially a “big boat race”, it was Tom Huseby’s J/145 DOUBLE TAKE from Seattle YC that took fifth in class followed by Bill Fox’s Gig Harbor YC team on the J/160 JAM in sixth place.The 101.9nm Cape Flattery Race was a good event for the leading J/crews across the spectrum of performance. On an overall classification in the 60-boat division, the top team was John Murkowski’s Seattle YC crew on the new J/122E JOY RIDE, taking home the bronze against several ultra-hot crews from across the Pacific Northwest. Just fourteen minutes behind them on corrected time was Greg Slyngstad’s J/125 giant-slayer, HAMACHI, from Corinthian YC Seattle in fourth position. Taking sixth was Ron Holbrook’s J/133 CONSTELLATION from Corinthian YC Tacoma.
On a class basis, the J/Teams smoked in PHRF L2 Division, sweeping the top three positions and took home 9 of the top 11 places!! Winning was Jim Prentice’s J/109 DIVA, followed in second by Tom Sitar’s J/109 SERENDIPITY- notable for the fact it was Canadian crews taking the top two places. In third was Bob Brunius’ J/120 TIME BANDIT, fourth another J/120- Kirk Palmer’s LIGHTSCOUT, and sixth was Duncan Stamper’s J/35 MOONLIGHT MILE. To round out the top eleven, Mark Hansen’s J/109 MOJO was 9th, George Leighton’s J/35 TAHLEQUAH was 10th and Mike Picco’s J/120 WILD BLUE was 11th.Like their PHRF L2 colleagues, the J/105s in PHRF L3 took seven of the top ten overall! Second was Jim Geros’ LAST TANGO, third was Doug Schenk’s FREE BOWL OF SOUP, fourth was Scott Shaw-Mac’s NATURAL HIGH, fifth was Ed Wilder’s AVALANCHE, seventh was Chuck Stephens’ PANIC, eighth was Doug Pihlaja’s ABSTRACT and in tenth was Ulf Gerog Gwildis’ J/30 IMPULSIVE! Quite an impressive showing!
Having an equally strong performance in the 78.7nm Juan de Fuca Race were several other notable performances from J/crews. Taking second in class was Peter McComb’s J/109 TIPPY, just 7 minutes off the pace to win the entire race overall! Third in class was Adrian King-Harris’ crew on the J/33 “J” only 11 minutes further back on handicap pace. Finally, taking a respectable 10th place in the large class was Walt Meagher’s J/35 SUNSHINE GIRL. In the Juan de Fuca HC Division, John Simpkin’s J/32 BLUE JAY managed an 8th in class while John Tulip’s J/35c IRENE II sailed home in 12th.In the Inshore Flying Sails division, Tom Kerr’s famously fast J/33 CORVO took fourth in class over the 8nm course, starting at 0940 hours and finishing by 1230 hours, just in time for a massive champagne celebration brunch on the lawn at Royal Victoria YC! Sailing photo credits- Art Box Events Follow the Swiftsure Race social activities here For more Swiftsure Race sailing information
J/111 Coastal Cup Race Domination!(Santa Barbara, CA)- The second leg of the California Offshore Series took place last weekend. The Coastal Cup was reduced from its original 277 nm grind from San Francisco to Santa Barbara, which had been on life support recently. With only 8 boats in attendance in 2015, and a complete cancellation in 2014 for lack of participants, 9 boats in 2013 and not much better in the previous years, it appears the magic is back. 29 boats registered and 27 sailed the now 200nm race from Monterey to Santa Barbara.
Good thing, too. Loving the conditions and absolutely blowing out their competition was the J/111 SYMMETRY, taking 1st in PHRF D Class and 1st Overall! Congratulations to Howard Turner and his crew on SYMMETRY of Jay Crum, Joe Crum, Paul Stone, Michael Johnaon, Keith Stahnke from Santa Cruz YC!
Also, sailing an awesome race was the J/88 BLUE FLASH, taking a fourth in PHRF F Class- Scott Grealish and crew of David Aymar, Kerry Poe, Andrew Haliburton, and Michael Haliburton from Willamette Sailing Club in Portland, Oregon. Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green / UltimateSailing.com. For more Coastal Cup sailing information
J/133 PINTIA Crushes Myth of Malham RaceJ/Teams Amazing Sweep of IRC 2 Class
(Cowes, England)- Tenacity and dogged determination came to the fore for the class winners of the 230nm Myth of Malham Race. With a light fickle northerly breeze, staying alert and making the best of the light conditions was the recipe for success. Yachts from Britain, France, Germany and Oman were the class winners.
Gilles Fournier's French J/133 PINTIA was the overall winner of the Myth of Malham Race, after a tremendous battle with another 44 footer in the race. The two boats were literally side-by-side for the 230nm race and after IRC time correction; PINTIA was the winner by just eight seconds after 38 hours of racing.
Gilles Fournier was sailing back to their homeport of Le Havre when he heard the news that they won. "The whole crew are delighted,” commented Gilles. "When you are on the right side by eight seconds it is nice. Our competitors managed to stay ahead of us for sometime but we caught up and rounded Eddystone in front, but then we ran out of wind and they passed us again. However, we never gave up, we kept up our motivation to the end because we knew that it would be very close. We are a family boat, PINTIA sails with my daughter Corinne Migraine and my grandson Victor Migraine and my two nephews; Yan and Thomas Fournier. Also, Daniel Devos, who is one of the best Laser Masters in the world. We are all from the Société des Régates du Havre and it is the best sailing school in France."
In IRC Two, Fournier's PINTIA scored a commanding victory, winning the class by nearly five hours after time correction. Two British J/122s enjoyed a terrific battle for second place. After racing for two days and night, Andy Theobald's R&W crossed the finish line just two minutes ahead of David Richards' JOLLY JELLYFISH sailed by Gianluca Folloni. However, after time correction JOLLY JELLYFISH won the battle for second place. The Army Sailing Association's J/122, BRITISH SOLDIER finished a tenacious fifth to take the class lead for the season in IRC Two Class.
In IRC Three, Nick Martin's British J/105 DIABLO-J took third, followed by Nikki Curwen’s J/105 VOADOR in 4th, Chris Palmer’s J/109 J’T’AIME in 6th and Chris Burleigh’s JYBE TALKIN’ in 9th. As a result, DIABLO-J holds on to third in IRC 3 for the season points series.
In IRC Two-Handed Class, Robert Nelson's J/105 BIGFOOT was fourth, just 11 minutes behind Martin’s J/105 DIABLO-J, retaining the IRC Two-Handed class lead for the season. Nikki Curwen’s J/105 VOADOR rounded out the top five, taking fifth for the race.
The RORC Season's Points Championship continues with the 125-mile Morgan Cup Race on Friday 10 June from Cowes to Dieppe. For RORC Myth of Malham Race sailing information
Deutscher Touring YC Leading German J/70 Bundesliga(Kontanz/ Bodensee, Germany)- The German Champion of 2015, the Deutscher Touring YC won the second event of the German Sailing League on Lake Constance and is now on top of the overall ranking. The conditions were difficult and all participants needed a long break during the last day before the wind finally settled down to permit reasonably good racing conditions.
For most of the weekend, sailing was conducted at a snail's pace. In thirteen difficult races only the top teams were able to post consistent scores, the rest were riding roller-coaster scorelines all the way through both days. DTYC posted mostly top three scores, including seven 1sts in 13 races to win the regatta by four points.
Helmsman Julian Stückl of the Deutscher Touring YC said, "We had a good start in this event and have sailed tactically clean. We know that we can beat anyone, and that gives us confidence. We are glad that the two events are completed and that we managed to win them, our season is going good for us, so far!" Stuckl’s DTYC team included Patrick Follmann, Jonas Vogt and Tobias Bolduan.
Not that far off the pace and about the only other team that could match DTYC was the team from Wannsee, Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee, accumulating five 1sts themselves and finishing with 30 pts total. Six points back in third place was Bayerischer YC with 36 pts. Fourth and fifth positions, respectively, were determined on a tie-breaker/ countback, with Lindauer Segler-club beating Chiemsee YC on 50 pts each.
In a few weeks, the hunt gets back on track for the next round. The next event is part of the Travemunde Race Week (23 to 25 July 2016). For more German J/70 Sailing League information
Regattaclub Bodensee Leads Swiss J/70 Sailing League(Lake Geneva, Switzerland)- Tricky and changing conditions were characteristic for the second Act in the Swiss Sailing League for the League I teams. Twelve clubs from all over Switzerland came to show their skills on Lake Geneva, with the event being hosted by Societe Nautique de Geneve.
After fourteen races, it was clear the battle for the top three podium finishers would not be determined until the last race! It was a fierce battle that saw the leaders finish within four points of each other.Winning was Regattaclub Bodensee with only four 1sts, but with nine 2nds in their scoreline for a total of 28 pts! With the drama of the last race determining the outcome, Societe Nautique de Geneve was happy to have taken home the silver with 30.2 pts. Third was Yachtklub Bielersee with 33.4 pts, while Societe Nautique Rolloise was 4th with 42 pts and fifth was Cercle Voile de Neuchatel. For more Swiss J/70 Sailing League information
Wild & Wicked Block Island Race(Larchmont, NY)- This year’s Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race started Friday afternoon (May 27) and saw most of its eighty-two entries finishing Saturday evening and early Sunday morning. The 186nm race for IRC and PHRF boats is a Memorial Day weekend tradition that starts and finishes off Stamford, Conn., and takes a route around Block Island (rounding to starboard). This year’s 71st edition hosted ten classes, including an IRC and PHRF class each for double-handed crews, as well as a youth challenge competition.
“The conditions were volatile,” said one of the competitors, who explained that the wind went from quite light to an upper range of 20-25 knots, “and tough because of the variables, but we focused on where the next wind line was going to come from and made the right decisions. It was a thinking race from that perspective. We encountered a squall between The Race and Block Island that was luckily more wind than rain. Then, we ran into the heavy weather and torrential downpour on Block Island Sound. After rounding Block Island, it was our time to fly the spinnaker, and things were going pretty well until we got closer to the Gut. On the Long Island side, there was a ‘parking lot’ and we were drifting, waiting for more boats to join the party! Eventually, a breeze developed close to the shore and the race started again. We are super excited about our finish.”
According to another skipper, “I was waking up at 0300 hrs when a squall had hit and laid the boat on its side with its spinnaker up. It was a real fire drill, a real mess for us!!”
Surviving the chaos and nearly pulling off a win in their class was Hewitt Gaynor’s J/120 MIREILLE from Fairfield, CT, taking the silver in the IRC 1 Doublehanded Class.
In the IRC 3 division with seven boats, taking a bronze was Len Sitar’s J/44 VAMP from Holmdel, NJ. They also took home the Tuna Trophy for the best combined IRC scores in the Edlu (40%) and the Block Island Race (60%). Lenny also had Rear Commodore A.J. Evans of Storm Trysail Club on board.
In the ten boat IRC 4 Class, Dale and Michael McIvor’s J/133 MATADOR from Southport, CT took home the silver for second place. Finally, in the PHRF 4 Class with fourteen boats, Carl Olsson’s J/109 MORNING GLORY from New Rochelle, NY grabbed the gold for first overall in class. For more Storm Trysail Block Island Race sailing information
FIGAWI Fun & Frolic to Nantucket!(Nantucket, MA)- The 45th Annual Figawi Race Weekend is one of the top sailing events that takes place on the northeast coast over the bank holiday Memorial day weekend and ranks as one of the largest “pursuit-style” races in the world. The Figawi Race Weekend kicks off the Cape Cod and Nantucket summer season. Sailors from several states crewed the massive fleet of 220+ sailboats, with over 3,000 sailors and visitors enjoying the sailing and fabulous festivities all weekend long.
After the famous Kickoff Party at Hyannis Yacht Club on Friday evening, the competitors gathered early Saturday morning to head out to the start line. The first boat officially began at 10 am off the Hyannis Port Jetty after the parade of sailboats that took place at 0800 hrs sharp!
Depending on the various conditions, the theory of the Pursuit Race format is that all competitors should reach the Nantucket MO(A) Buoy at around the same time. They finish at the entrance of Nantucket Harbor and parade into Nantucket Boat Basin, bowing and waving to the wildly cheering throngs that have gathered together on the beach at Brant Point Light.
As Stan Grossfeld at the Boston Globe commented, “the Figawi is a salty summer tradition that will always sail onwards. For local sailors, Figawi is sacred, like Opening Day at Fenway Park. Sailboats trimmed oh-so-tightly seem to float across the water, kicking up a cool, salty spray.The race’s name has a salty origin. ‘From what I’ve been told,’ said one sailor with a laugh, ‘Figawi is a reference to [someone with a] Bostonian accent... coming out here in the fog and landing in Nantucket and going, ‘Where the [expletive] are we?!’
At times, the sailboats were bunched close enough for the participants to share a sandwich.
‘It was very close,’ said one crew from Duxbury. ‘It was not a day to enjoy a lot of cocktails when you were out on the water. I understand there was a boat that lost a mast. There was a collision right behind us. It gets hairy every once in a while. But, it’s a blast, and it is a LOT of fun! Especially the partaaays!!’
This year, the headlines went to a couple of fun-loving landlubbers named Gronk and Edelman, who didn’t even race but partied in the Figawi tent. They weren’t alone. After the race, all across the Nantucket Boat Basin, blenders purred and beers popped in a symphony of celebration. On Saturday night, there was a blood-red sunset; by Sunday morning, there were bloodshot eyes, but there was still plenty of laughter.What’s the best part of the weekend? ‘The friendship, the people,’ said another salty-dog. ‘I mean, come on. I always say, how many summers do we have left?’” And so it goes.
Reveling in the fun and madness were several J/crews that have enjoyed all that Figawi has to offer; especially in the nice breezy passage they had this year. In PHRF B Division, Ira Perry’s crew on the J/29 SEEFEST took second in class while Kirk Brown’s J/40 JAZZ finished fourth. Another J/40 took class honors in PHRF E Division, Bill Jones’ SMITTEN. Then, in PHRF M Division, Brad Butman’s J/28 SHADOWFAX took home the bronze.
In the racing PHRF Spinnaker 1 division, the J’s took three of the top five. Jimmy Masiero’s J/122 URSUS MARITIMUS placed third, with David Follett’s J/120 GLORY in fourth and Jon Lacks’ J/105 VIVA fifth. In PHRF Spinnaker 2 division, it was a clean sweep of the top five by the J/105s, with the trio of Joyce & Reservitz & Wagner sailing DARK’N’STORMY (appropriately named for Figawi, eh??) onto the top of the podium, followed by Art Cox’s LYRIC in second, Chris Lund’s WHOMPER in third, Ed Lobo’s WATERWOLF in fourth and Nick Aswad’s CLIO in fifth. For more FIGAWI Race sailing information
GRIFFON KONG King of Italian J/24 Nationals(Marina di Carrara, Italy)- Thirty-six teams were treated to great racing from the 25th to 29th of May in the XXXVI J/24 Nationals in Italy. Hosted by the Club Nautico Marina di Carrara in cooperation with the Italian J/24 Class and the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV), the teams enjoyed eight races over the three-day regatta. Winning the Italian J/24 Nationals title was GRIFFON KONG owned by Marco Stefanoni and skippered by Francesco Bertone with crew of Michele Benvenuti, Mauro Benfatto and David Davi. The German ROTOMAN team (owned by the German J/24 Class President- Jan-Marc Ulrich, and skippered by Tobias Feuerherdt) was the overall Open Regatta winner.
After three sunny days, the three-dozen crews (representing Italy, Germany & America) were prevented from sailing on the last day due to adverse weather, brutal sea conditions and heavy rain.
"Despite the weather, we managed to complete eight fine races in the first part of the regatta,” explained Franco Minotti, the regatta chairman. “The championship was definitely a challenging race course because of the current and the wind shifts. The first two days, we chose to do races that were rather short because of the wind. But, on the third day, we felt it appropriate to stretch the race course a bit. I wish to extend, on behalf of the entire Committee, a big ‘Thank You’ to the organization of C.N. Marina di Carrara; great job setting buoys, and impeccable performance overall! A perfectly successful event, as I have also heard by all participants.""On the first day we started with some difficulty, but then, after a good set-up we were able to reach the right speed, and we continued to maintain control of the Championship,” commented Stefanoni, crew aboard GRIFFON KONG. “The weather conditions were quite difficult, especially in the first two days, when we were racing rather short courses. But, our helmsman is also very skilled in short-course tactics and was able to maneuver very well!”
GRIFFIN KONG closed the 36th National J/24 Championship third overall in the Open Division. Winning the Open ranking was the top German team ROTOMAN skippered by Tobias Feuerherdt. In second position, it was the American crew of FURIO sailed by champion J/24 sailor from Seattle, Washington- Keith Whittemore.
Rounding out the top five was a tie-breaker between BLACK LEATHER and TAKE IT EASY. On count-back, it was past Soling World Champion, the Hungarian Farkas Litkey sailing with owner Paul Cecamore from YC Nettuno that took fourth overall. Fifth was TAKE IT EASY’s young skipper- Eugenia De Giacomo- and the young crew of Nicola Pitanti, Mark Brown, Matilde Pitanti and Lorenzo Cusimano"We are a crew of friends, we were having fun, and that was our main goal," commented an excited Eugenia De Giacomo, skipper of TAKE IT EASY. "We were good at maintaining constant results throughout the regatta and this allowed us to close with this amazing result!”
Congratulations for the great success of the event and for the work by the CN Marina Organizing Committee of Carrara, the protest committee (chaired by Luigi Cuccotti with Sandro Gherarducci and Marco Cerri), the Race Committee (chaired by Franco Minotti with Stefano De Vito, Luigi D'Amico, Massolini Luigia, Luigi and Massimo Porchera Lunardini), and, finally, to the measurers Manuela Donati and Paul Luciani. For more Italy J/24 Nationals sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* J/105 Kids Offshore Sailing Perspective- Sailors are a superstitious bunch, and the same goes for the youth sailors aboard the J/105 MORE COWBELLS at this year’s Annapolis NOOD Regatta, hosted by Annapolis YC.During a race on Saturday, bowman Andrew Hiller was hungry, and reached into the pocket of his PFD to grab a snack, but his team wouldn’t let him. “The fruit rollup was in his PFD when we were winning the race,” says skipper Kate Riley. “So, it was staying there until we finished that race.”
Riley (16) was one of four Annapolis Yacht Club youth sailors selected by coach Jane Millman to the Helly Hansen Junior Crew. Ben Podlich (15), Andrew Hiller (14) and Annabelle Hutchinson (17) rounded out the squad. The Junior Crew sailed, with Millman and another adult aboard, in the 18-strong J/105 fleet.
As they headed down to the boat on Sunday morning to complete the regatta, Podlich carried a brand new box of fruit rollups in his bag. “I chose four kids who love to sail first, and love winning second, because I think that’s a recipe for success,” says Millman. “I chose Ben because he has a goofy side to him, but when it’s game time he’s really serious. Kate is a good driver and very focused. She handled a really large boat, compared to a dinghy, well this weekend. I chose Annabelle because she has a positive attitude to bring to the team, and if things are going wrong I can count on her to keep our morale up. Andrew is a part of the team because, even though he’s the youngest on the team, I see a lot of keelboat sailing in his future and I want to start him young.”Pendleton Alexander, an AYC member who was speaking at a conference that weekend, made the opportunity possible. Alexander handed over the keys to his race boat with full confidence in Millman and the AYC youth sailors. “Strategy in a keelboat fleet is vastly different than the experience in dinghies, and the four youth sailors enjoyed the change of pace. It’s fun, even though it’s been difficult getting used to the boat,” says Podlich.
The Junior Crew all sail on different teams, though Millman coaches them all. “Having to communicate every last thing has been challenging, but also really helpful,” says Podlich. “It’s something we’ll be able to use again.”
Tactics on long-leg races are a change from the small dinghy races the Junior Crew sailors are used to, where starts are the most vital aspect of any race. “The races are long enough that, if you mess up the start, it’s not a death sentence,” says Podlich. “You can only work back from it. We had a not-great start yesterday, but ended up catching five boats by the end of the race. It wasn’t the best race I’ve ever had, but I was happy with our performance.”
They finished the regatta in 11th overall, with one seventh place race finish on their scorecard. For these four youth sailors, the Junior Crew is an early step onto the path of their adult sailing career. “You don’t get to stay in a dinghy forever, or stay in high school forever,” says Podlich. “It’s the future for all of us, and it’s a great opportunity to get to sail keelboats as early as we are.”
J/Cruisers
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.
* The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific. Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/
* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands. Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination? A giant whale! Look at this amazing photo!
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again, for 2015/ 2016! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above). They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands.
* Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.
* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.
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